West Virginia Code 22-18-18 – Imminent and substantial hazards; orders; penalties; hearings
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, the director, upon receipt of information, or upon observation or discovery that the handling, storage, transportation, treatment or disposal of any hazardous waste may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health, safety or the environment, may:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 22-18-18
- Director: means the director of the Division of Environmental Protection or such other person to whom the director has delegated authority or duties pursuant to sections six or eight, article one of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 22-18-3
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Disposal: means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking or placing of any hazardous waste into or on any land or water so that such hazardous waste or any constituent thereof may enter the environment or be emitted into the air, or discharged into any waters, including groundwaters. See West Virginia Code 22-18-3
- Hazardous waste: means a waste or combination of wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics, may: (A) Cause, or significantly contribute to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness. See West Virginia Code 22-18-3
- Person: means any individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, public, private or government corporation, partnership, association, state or federal agency, the United States government, this state or any other state, municipality, county commission or any other political subdivision of a state or any interstate body. See West Virginia Code 22-18-3
- Storage: means the containment of hazardous waste, either on a temporary basis or for a period of years, in such a manner as not to constitute disposal of such hazardous waste. See West Virginia Code 22-18-3
- Treatment: means any method, technique or process, including neutralization, designed to change the physical, chemical or biological character or composition of any hazardous waste so as to neutralize such waste or so as to render such waste nonhazardous, safer for transport, amenable to recovery, amenable to storage or reduced in volume. See West Virginia Code 22-18-3
(1) Request the Attorney General or the appropriate prosecuting attorney to commence an action in the circuit court of the county in which the hazardous condition exists to immediately restrain any person contributing to such handling, storage, transportation, treatment or disposal to stop such handling, storage, transportation, treatment or disposal or to take such other action as may be necessary; or
(2) Take other action under this section including, but not limited to, issuing such orders as may be necessary to protect public health and the environment.
(b) Any person who willfully violates, or fails or refuses to comply with, any order of the director under subsection (a) of this section may, in an action brought in the appropriate circuit court to enforce such orders, be fined not more than $5,000 for each day in which such violation occurs or such failure to comply continues.